Swiss Foreign Ministry Denounces Russian Embassy Statement
Date
4/19/2023 11:09:53 PM
(MENAFN- Swissinfo)
Source of the discord: the Russian embassy in Bern. © Keystone / Anthony Anex
A foreign Ministry spokesman has said that threats made against a Swiss journalist by the Russian embassy in Bern are“unacceptable”.
This content was published on April 19, 2023 April 19, 2023 Keystone-SDA/dos Pусский
(ru)
мид швейцарии осудил заявление посольства россии
“Freedom of information and the media are guaranteed under the [Swiss] federal constitution,” tweeted the foreign ministry's communications director Nicolas Bideau on Wednesday. Bideau said this would be“clearly communicated” to the Russian ambassador.
The foreign ministry was responding to a statement by the Russian embassy regarding the work of a Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) journalist covering the war in Ukraine. In Russia, wrote the embassy, the journalist's coverage was liable to land him a financial penalty, a prison term, or a period of forced labour.
+“switzerland has lost its opportunity to mediate for peace in ukraine”
The NZZ article in question was about, among other things, Ukrainian resistance in the city of Melitopol in the south-eastern region of Zaporizhzhia.
The Russian embassy claimed that the vocabulary used in the article was aimed at justifying terrorism, and that the author had also reported“the most ridiculous inventions and rumours” – such as the“peaceful guerrilla actions including women from the city distributing pastries laced with laxatives to Russian soldiers” which were mentioned in the piece.
In a written response to the Tages-Anzeiger paper, the Russian embassy said its statement was“in no way threatening”. It wrote:“We merely remind NZZ journalists that despite freedom of expression they live in a state with rule of law, and they should follow the laws, which among other things forbid the support of terrorist activities, as we indicated to the dear journalist”.
The Swiss foreign ministry did not confirm to the Keystone-SDA news agency whether the ambassador would be summoned, or whether it would respond in written form.
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